Butternut Squash Ravioli

It's been almost a week since I've done any cooking. We've been living off of Thanksgiving leftovers and eating out for a couple of meals! My cupboards were pretty bare, but I had a butternut squash that need cooked. I saw my new ravioli maker and thought butternut squash ravioli sounded good. Luckily, I had enough semolina flour for the pasta. This recipe is more labor intensive and took 2 hours from start to finish. The sauce was just an uncomplicated brown butter and sage. I also had turkey meatballs that my youngest son chose after sampling them at Target. They are their store brand and when my non-meat eater said they were good, I was sold!

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce:
Serves 8

Filling:

1 large butternut squash - halved lengthwise, peeled and seeded
2 teaspoons butter
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the squash cut side up on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon butter in the hollow of each half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the squash with a sheet of aluminum foil tucking in the edges. Bake squash in preheated oven until tender and easily pierced with a fork, 45 to 65 minutes. Scoop the cooked squash into a bowl, and mash until smooth. Mix in the allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and Parmesan cheese until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


Semolina Pasta:
(1.5 lbs)
2 cups semolina
1 1/3 cups pasta flour
2 tbsp water plus more as needed
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Place all ingredients in mixing bowl. If you're using a KitchenAid mixer attach the flat beater and run that speed to 30 seconds. Change out the flat beater for the dough hook. Knead for two minutes. Add additional water 1 tbdp at a time as needed to bring the dough together. Turn out of the bowl and hand knead for 1 to 2 minutes don't overwork. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the refridge for 1 hour. When you start to cut the dough, I've found it best to wrap the resting dough in damp paper towels. Either roll out by hand or run pieces through a pasta sheet maker. Flour a ravioli pan and place a sheet of pasta over it. Lightly press pasta into the wells of the pan. Cover with another sheet of pasta and the roll over all to seal and cut the edges. Repeat steps until all the pasta is cut. Bring a pot of well salted water to boil. Drop the ravioli into the boiling water, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Remove, drain, and keep warm until sauce is prepared.

Sauce:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the sage. Continue to cook and stir until the sage is crispy but not browned. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place 6 to 8 raviolis on serving plates, and drizzle with sauce.